ariswold



2 Sheets-Sheet I.

H. J. GRISWOLD.

KNITTING MACHINE.

Patented Apr. 4, 1882.

/ ZW/QLR UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY J. GRISWOLD, Oh LONDON, COUNTY OF MIDDLESEX, ENGLAND.

KNITTING- MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 255,971, dated April 4, 1 852. Application filed July 1879. Patented in England October 5, 1873, and in France April 9, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY J. GRiswoLn, formerly of Madison, Connecticut, now residing in London, Middlesex county, England, have invented certain Improvements in Knitting-Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in circular-knitting machines constructed, as fully described hereinafter, so as to be capable of knitting either a flat or tubular web, or so that the needles may be adjusted or thrown out of action without removing the loops from'the same.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of the revolving cam-ring of a circularknitting machine with cams so constructed as to permit of the needles being lifted out of action and of knitting a flat as well as a tubular web. Fig.2 is a vertical section of the said machine combined with my ribbing attachment. Fig. 3 is a plan, partly in horizontal section, of the said ribbing attachment.

Like letters indicate the same parts throughout the drawings.

A represents the bed of the machine, and has a clamp-screw, B, whereby it is secured to the edge of a table or other support.

0 is the fixed needle-cylinder, grooved vertically for the purpose of guiding the needles in the usual manner.

D is the revolving or reciprocating cam-ring, (shown detached in Fig. 1,) the earns a I) being so constructed as to give the same vertical movement to the needles in whichever direction the said cam-ring is revolved; and whenever one or more of the needles are lifted up, so that the butts pass above the cams, they are no longer in action, but the stitch remains upon the said needles until they are pressed down,

so as to again engage the cam.

E is a bevel-gear wheel, and F bevel-gearing upon the cam-ring D, by which motion is communicated to the said cam-rin g.

H is the yarn-carrier which is made to slide backward and forward in respect to the camring D in such a manner as to present the yarn to the needles at the proper time inwhichever direction the said cam may be revolved or reciprocated.

W'ith circular-knittingmachines,variedsomewhat by different inventors, but constructed as above set forth, I combine a ribbing attachment consisting essentially of a stationary neeangles, or nearly so, while the other ends of l the said jacks are provided with hooks i, so as to hang and vibrate freely upon the cup-shaped partffof the fixed holder K K. Near the middle longitudinallyof each of the said jacks is a lip, 0 which overhangs the ribs t ton the cams g and h, Fig. 3, so that the said cams may catch behind the said lips and actuate the said jacks and their respective needles as the cams are carried past the jacks. By this construction all the cams of the ribbing attachment may be placed on the revolving cam-ring L and in front of the said jacks, and the jacks may be readily removed from the machine by simply lifting them off their bearings and replaced again for the purpose of fashioning properly the stocking. The fixed holder K of the said ribbing attachment has a circular disk or web, j, turned to nearly the same size as the diameter of the needlecylinder of the knitting-machine, but thickened somewhat at its circumference, in which thickened part are cut grooves j equal in number to the needles d required. The oflice of these grooves is to guide the said needles as theyare actuated,and also to discharge or knock off the loops from the said needles.

The holder K also has a slotted circular disk,

7c, \vhichsei-ves to guide the aforesaid jacks as they are being actuated. The said holder is also provided with the aforesaid cup-shaped piece jandis concentric with the axis ot the attachment, to which the said jacks are pivoted at their upper ends, as described above. From the cup-shaped piece theie projects upward the support 1, preferably tubular, which surmonnts the attachment and serves, in combination with the clip-lever m and the pedestal n, to hold the frame from revolving or re ciprocating with the cam-ring L. The contractile ring or clip m of this clip lever or arm m is clamped to the tubular part l by means of the thumb-screw 1'. By this combination I am able to adjust the radial needles accurately, so that they maybe held at will either directly above the grooves of the needle-cylinder (l of the machine, or turned to one side or the other so as to be above the ribs and between such grooves. By thus changing the position of the radial needles of the ribbing attachment 1 am able to decrease the size of the leg of a stocking to form the ankle by as many stitches as there are ribs in the stocking being knit, and have accomplished the result of properly fashioning the leg of a stocking knitted on a circular machine without resorting to sewing up the back of the stocking.

The fixed needle-holderK with its four parts mentioned above may all be cast in onepiece, but is preferably made in two parts divided as shown in Fig. 2. In this case the parts K K are fastened together by means of the screw 1) and the nut p. IVhile the needle-holder K is held adjustably from revolving or oscillating, as above described, the cam-ring Lot the ribbing attachmentis attached rigidly bythree or more brackets, O, to the main cam-ring D of the machine, with which it is revolved or reciprocated simultaneously.

The cam n of the cam-ring L actuates the jacks e and their needles to discharge the loop and form the ribbed stitch, while the other two cams, g and h, which may be designated wing-cams, push the said needles at the proper moment to disengagetheirlatches from the loops last formed.

The wing-cams g and h are preferably pivoted at w to, so as to be moved backward and forward, are held in position by the springsw m, and may be secured by set-screws y y.

It will be seen that the ribbing attachment as well as the main machine will knit equally well in whichever direction it is revolved, and together they will knit a flat-ribbed web as well as a tubular one. hen, as when forming the heel of a stocking, it is required temporarily to suspend the knitting of the rilobing attachment, the wing-cams g andh are drawn out into the position shown by the cam h in the drawings and held there by the set-screw y 3 When a ribbed fabric is not required the ribbing attachment is readily disconnected and the main machine may be used to knit a plain web in the usual manner.

The operation of the machine is as follows: Having commenced at the top of a stocking in the usual way, and having knit once around, I adjust the ribbing attachment to the machine, the cams of the attachment being arrangedin respect to the corresponding cams of the machine to effect the desired operations. I then insert in the ribbing attachment,equidistant from each other, jacks equal in number to, say, one-fourth as many needles as are in the ma chine, and adjust the clips so that the radial needles of the attachment shall fall directly over the ribs n of the machine and between every fourth and fifth needle thereof. I then revolve the machine and knit a straight tubular web, say, six or eight inches lon I then narrow the leg offgradually by taking out from the machine a needle, say, every fourth time around, and putting the stitch over the adjoining ribbing-needles. 1 continue this until as many needles have been removed as there are ribs say one-fifth of the whole number of stitches. I. then adjust the frame K of the attachment by means of the clip-lever, so that the radial needles shall be held directly over the grooves of the needle=cylinderG which have become vacant by the removal of the needles for narrowing. I then knit, say, three inches more of tubular work for the ankle.

For the heel and bottom of the foot I remove one-half of thejacks and insert in the needleframe 0 needles in their places, transferring to these needles the stitches which were on the 'ackneedles. This makes the heel and bottom half of the stocking-foot plain, while the'top is ribbed. While the heel is being knitted the ribbing-jacks are thrown out ofaction by drawing back the wing-cams and holding them by set-screws, as described above, and the ribbing attachment is detached before knitting the toe.

The heel and toe are knitted in the well-known manner practiced on reversible circular-knitting maehiues the needles of which may be thrown out of action.

A machine suitable for knitting seamless o stockings should have a needlecylinder not exceeding fou and a half inches in diameter; but in machines of larger diameter I may employ the same needles as are used in the main machine and actuate them in radial grooves by cams similar to those used in the main machine.

The essential parts of my invention remain the same in either case.

I claim- 1. The coinbination,\vith the suspendedjacks carrying needles and having lips 6 of the revolving ring L, adjustable flanged cams g h, and plain cam 11, carried by said ring, as set forth.

2. The combination, in a knitting-machine, of the cylinder provided with needles, a ribbing attachment carrying radial needles, cams for operating both sets of needles, all constructed IOC to permitthe knitting to be efi'ected by revolv- 1 1o ing the cylinder in either direction, and appliances whereby the attachment may be adjusted and secured relatively to the cylinder with its needles, either opposite or between those of the cylinder, substantially as set forth.

3. The within-described improvement in the art of manufacturing stockings, the same consisting in first forming the ribs with the ribbing-needles opposite the posts between the cylinder-needles, successively removing cylinder-needles adjacent to the ribbing-needles, putting the stitches over the adjoining needles, and,when a number of needles equal to the ribbing-needles are removed, then adjusting the ribbing device to bring the needles opposite the grooves of the needles removed, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereofI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

ILJ. GRISWOLD.

Witnesses: Y

UHARLns E. Fos'rnn, WILLIAM PAXTON. 

